


Warmth

by pendots



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/F, Fluff, That tag is barely relevant but I really want to emphasize that everything is Happy in this fic, personasecretsanta17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 01:52:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13136664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pendots/pseuds/pendots
Summary: Aigis still doesn't really understand her own emotions, but she's trying.(Written for Persona Secret Santa 2017)





	Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Persona Secret Santa 2017 for Silvered ([silveredfoxxeh on tumblr](http://silveredfoxxeh.tumblr.com/))! I hope you enjoy it and happy holidays!

When Aigis awoke from standby, she was oddly disoriented.

The last of her diagnostics faded slowly into the background. _No issues reported_. Her disorientation had no explanation then, unless she had missed something. Aigis blinked once, twice, and focused on the only other person in the room.

“…Mitsuru-san?” Aigis stated sluggishly.

Mitsuru looked up from her book. “Aigis,” she acknowledged. Her eyebrows tilted down. “Is something wrong?”

Under the senior’s concerned gaze, Aigis felt suddenly embarrassed, a sensation she was still entirely unaccustomed to. She had not meant to cause worry. “Oh. I have awoken feeling disoriented. I wanted to make sure that was you, that’s all.”

Mitsuru still didn’t look at ease. She reached for the bookmark which had been placed on the coffee table in front of her. With her place marked, Mitsuru set her book aside. “It’s me,” she agreed carefully. “Are you having trouble remembering things?”

Aigis considered, but shook her head. “No. My mind felt… fuzzy… upon finishing my diagnostic standby, but I do not believe I am missing any files.” She pauses. “It is a very unfamiliar feeling to me.”

Even the fact that Aigis could say the word _feeling_ while somehow understanding it as more than a theoretical concept was a new experience to her. Having emotions was… strange.

Mitsuru smiled slightly. “That sounds very human,” she commented, her posture relaxing. “When humans wake up after sleeping, they often take a few moments to get their bearings. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Aigis’s mouth dropped open. “Very… human?” she repeated. She stood up immediately, a warm and somewhat anxious feeling firing in her artificial heart. “Please excuse me, Mitsuru-san. I must share this with someone.”

Mitsuru chuckled knowingly, but didn’t comment. Feeling possessed by an emotion she was not advanced enough in her understanding to properly identify, Aigis rushed out of the lounge and up the stairs, ignorant of the flash of pink that she passed by.

In a matter of steps, Aigis was gone. Yukari stood at the top of the last flight of stairs, bewildered by the blur that had just shot by her. She looked into the lounge and was surprised to see Mitsuru’s amused smile. “Was that Aigis? Why was she in such a hurry?” Yukari called.

Mitsuru sighed, but it was followed by another smile. “I think she’s going to see our leader.”

Yukari beamed. “Oh.”

-

Aigis knocked rapidly on Minako’s door, though she was careful not to punch through.

(She had done so once when she had been ordered to awaken Junpei. Even with her fist straight through his door, he hadn’t awoken until Fuuka had walked in asking Aigis what all the noise had been, then yelped when she saw the hole in Junpei’s door. He ended up being more impressed than upset about the damage, but Mitsuru had warned Aigis to be careful from then on so they wouldn’t have to replace more doors. Aigis very clearly remembered Minako laughing harder than she had ever witnessed before.)

“Minako-san, it’s Aigis. I have something to share.”

Silence.

That was odd. Minako ought to be at the dorm at this time of night. It was still a few hours from midnight, so there was certainly no urgency to be back before the Dark Hour began, but still… Minako would usually be studying at a time like this, right?

Aigis hesitated. Minako _had_ asked her not to charge into the room without warning… Maybe if Aigis started a scan instead…?

She stood up straight, preparing to begin her search, but stopped short when she heard a nearby door open. “Oh! Aigis-san. How are you?”

Aigis relaxed her posture slightly. “Fuuka-san,” she greeted. Fuuka squirmed as Aigis bowed slightly, mumbling something like, “oh, you don’t need to—!” She straightened again, taking in Fuuka’s expression of relief, but decided to continue without questioning her.

“I am doing well. I was searching for Minako-san, but she is not answering when I knock on her door. I was preparing a scan to discern her whereabouts,” Aigis said.

Fuuka smiled pleasantly. “I’m surprised you didn’t walk in on your own…” she said, seeming shy to admit it.

Aigis considered the closed door ahead of her. “She has asked me not to in the past…” Aigis mused. She was beginning to wonder if it was worth barging in anyway, even if it did cause Minako to jump halfway up to the ceiling.

“Ah, I wasn’t suggesting that you _should_ walk in on your own…!” Fuuka said, waving her hands frantically in front of her. “Besides, she told me where she was headed, so I know she won’t be in there for a while…”

Aigis perked up. “Where is she?” she asked.

Fuuka was briefly stunned by Aigis’s clearly apparent eagerness, a short giggle startling out of her. “She said she wanted to go up to the roof and think. She didn’t seem to be in a bad mood, though—I’m sure she would enjoy your company.”

If Minako needed time to think… Maybe Aigis shouldn’t bother her? Aigis would distract her from her thoughts. She didn’t want to inconvenience her, but—

Fuuka suddenly gasped softly. “Now that I think about it, isn’t it very cold outside? I don’t think I saw her bring a jacket with her… I hope she isn’t too c—”

Aigis was already letting herself into Minako’s room and grabbing her coat.

“A-Aigis, hang on…!” Fuuka said frantically.

“If she is cold, then it’s vitally important that I protect her from the possibility of hypothermia. Don’t worry, I will save her. Thank you, Fuuka-san.”

Aigis was out of the hallway in a split-second.

Fuuka stood dumbfounded, certain that Aigis had left a cloud of dust in her wake.

-

The door to the roof clanged open, slamming against the wall, and was followed by an equally-loud shout of “ _Minako-san!_ ”

Needless to say, the Minako-san in question was startled out of her reverie and immediately to her feet.

Aigis was dashing straight towards her. Minako’s mind raced; had something happened in Tartarus? Perhaps Aigis had arrived to notify her of an urgent S.E.E.S. meeting, or—

A coat blocked her vision for a moment before it came to rest squarely over her shoulders.

Aigis, without even bothering to get Minako’s arms into the sleeves, hurriedly zipped the jacket all the way up and flipped the fluffy hood over Minako’s head. “I apologize that I cannot personally provide you with much warmth as my body heat is far more limited than that of a human, however I can activate Orgia Mode if necessary to do what I can. Please hold on, Minako-san.”

“Wh-what?! No, Aigis, don’t do that!” Minako said, flabbergasted. She grabbed for Aigis’s hands before they could move to activate any exhausting and entirely unnecessary battle modes.

“But I must protect you,” Aigis argued, her eyebrows lowering in a confused frown-pout. In a less bewildering situation, Minako would have called her adorable and then been even more smitten when Aigis frowned in even deeper confusion, but now was not the time.

Minako shook her head. “From what, Aigis?”

“From the cold.”

Aigis rattled into an explanation of how Fuuka had informed her that Minako had left without a jacket, which led Aigis to believe that Minako must be slowly wasting away to hypothermia on the Iwatodai Dorm rooftop all alone. A fact, Aigis stated seriously, she could not stand for.

Minako was silent, but a sudden, quiet snort slipped from her.

“Minako-san?”

She couldn’t help it. Aigis was making that dumbfounded face again, the one where she was confused and frustrated about it, and Aigis had really run out here to save Minako from the cold in such a hurry that she clearly hadn’t even noticed that Minako had been snugly wrapped in a blanket before Aigis had appeared in such a rush that it seemed like Tartarus must have been collapsing.

Minako laughed, the sound rushing out all at once. She held tighter to Aigis’s hands, using the other as support; the humor of it all really made her doubt her ability to balance.

“Aigis, you’re fantastic,” she wheezed, subtly wiping a tear of mirth from her eyes. The team always teased her for crying while laughing so easily, but she couldn’t help it. Thankfully, Aigis didn’t seem in the mood to poke fun at her about it (though Aigis was the type to be offended on Minako’s behalf that someone was mocking her rather than being the one to mock).

“I’m fantastic?” Aigis echoed. She was making a face. It seemed like the expression of someone who was deeply uncomfortable, but the barely-there glow of an artificially-produced blush and Minako’s large amount of experience with causing said expression erased any worry. “I do not fully understand, but thank you, Minako-san.”

Minako loosened her grip on Aigis’s hands to nudge her with an elbow. “I thought I already told you it was fine to drop the honorific,” she said warmly. She started to walk back towards where she had been sitting, wiggling her arms around to put the newly-donned jacket on properly.

Aigis stared after her. Another unfamiliar emotion kept welling up in her. Not understanding was very distressing.

Minako turned around. “Come and sit with me?” she offered. “Surely you were looking for me for more than just giving me a coat, right?”

She sounded strangely hopeful, as if she wasn’t entirely certain that Aigis had come for more than external protection. As if Minako was uncertain if Aigis enjoyed her company…

That wouldn’t stand.

“Of course!” Aigis answered strongly, striding over immediately. She was rewarded with Minako’s bright smile.

Minako sat, leaning her back against the short wall that lined the roof’s edge. Aigis followed suit, folding her legs under her. Minako pulled the blanket around them, shuffling closer to Aigis to make it fit around both of their shoulders.

“Ah. You had a blanket,” Aigis said.

Minako hummed quietly, but kept her gaze skyward.

Aigis looked up as well. The city light dulled out some of the stars, but the sky was clear of clouds. Tiny pinpricks of light glittered down at the pair.

“Were you stargazing, Minako-sa… Minako?”

Minako grinned at Aigis’s stumble. “Kind of,” she murmured, as if speaking too loudly would shatter the moment and knock the stars out of their careful alignment. “I was mostly just thinking, but they’re pretty to look at, too.”

“Yes,” Aigis agreed. “I am surprised, though. It is just under zero degrees Celsius, yet you seemed unaffected by the cold. Is this blanket made of a special material?”

Minako nudged into Aigis’s shoulder, leaning her head there. “No, it’s just a blanket.”

Aigis frowned. “Is my shoulder not uncomfortable to lean against?” she asked hesitantly.

Minako turned her face towards Aigis’s, her cheek still pressed against the golden cap of the android’s shoulder. “I’m very comfortable,” she said honestly, her voice quiet and almost shy.

Aigis felt warm inside again. That reminded her… “Oh. Your comment reminds me of why I came looking for you in the first place.”

The sudden shift in topic didn’t seem to faze Minako in the slightest. She waited silently for Aigis to begin, only raising a curious eyebrow to prompt her.

“I was performing my diagnostics in standby. I did so early just in case you wanted to visit Tartarus tonight. When I was finished, I felt very disoriented. Mitsuru-san informed me that such an experience is typical to humans when they first wake up. She said it was very human.” Aigis’s eyes seemed to glow with excitement.

Minako’s face split into a blinding grin. Her hand grabbed Aigis’s under the blanket and squeezed, a simple but meaningful gesture, a gesture which Minako seemed to love providing to Aigis, the simple manner of which somehow always made Aigis fill with happiness.

Oh.

_Happiness_. That was the word for that warmth. Aigis was almost certain.

“I’m really happy for you,” Minako said.

“I am happy as well,” Aigis murmured, finding it hard to believe. Her voice was filled with wonder.

“I’m happy that you feel happy.” And Minako truly sounded happy to hear it. Aigis met her gaze and it was filled with emotions, a lot of which Aigis couldn’t understand yet. That was okay, though—Aigis was more than willing to take the time to learn, especially if it made Minako happy.

“I am certain that your happiness makes me happy as well,” Aigis said.

Minako giggled and leaned forward to give Aigis a peck on the cheek.

“Oh,” Aigis murmured softly.

“Look,” Minako said.

Minako was looking skyward again. Aigis felt like gears were rolling quickly within her, despite the fact that her machinery was certainly far more advanced than that. Sensation still tingled on the cheek that Minako had kissed. Had her hand not been tucked warmly into Minako’s, Aigis would have reached up to feel her face, a face she was sure was burning with a bright artificial blush.

Aigis tried to pull her gaze away from Minako’s face to look up at whatever she was trying to point out to her, but couldn’t. Maybe her systems had crashed.

“It’s snowing,” Minako whispered, a childlike wonder spreading across her face. Now that she mentioned it, tiny sparkling flakes did seem to be falling into Minako’s hair; that much Aigis could tell.

“I have never experienced snow before,” Aigis stated, not knowing what else to say amidst her wonder. What was wrong with her? Was this another emotion? It had to be… What was it?!

Minako turned to face Aigis with a look of shock, but it faded when she met Aigis’s eyes. She must have seen something there that she approved of, something she enjoyed, because she smiled warmly. Maybe Minako understood the emotion Aigis was experiencing?

She stood up before Aigis could ask, as Aigis was too busy being pulled suddenly upward to utter anything more than a noise of surprise. “Come on, then. Let’s experience it! I bet we can beat Akihiko-senpai and Shinjiro-senpai in a snowball fight easily.”

“I am not sure it will be easy.”

Minako beamed. “I’m sure. Let’s go!”

Snowflakes flew past Aigis’s face as Minako dashed back towards the warmth of the dorm with her in tow. Despite the abandoned blanket and the ice crystals in the air, Aigis still felt warmth spreading through her. It originated from Minako’s hand and spread all the way through to Aigis’s artificial heart.

Aigis still didn’t have a name for it, but whatever it was, it felt right.


End file.
